Reality Check

Jocelyn Tan ’15 is harnessing the power of virtual reality to overcome adversity in the workplace

Reality Check
Image courtesy Jocelyn Tan ’15

The Finnish concept of sisu means “grit, bravery, and resilience” “hope in the face of adversity,” values that shape Sisu VR’s mission to lead with compassion and courage. Jocelyn Tan ’15 felt it was a fitting name for her company that harnesses the power of virtual reality for social good. She co-founded Sisu, which creates 3D, first-person trainings addressing workplace misconduct and safety response.

After graduating with an engineering degree, Tan faced a sobering reality familiar to many upon entering the workforce: the potential for workplace conflicts and misconduct. And the only defense mechanism employers provided were those mandatory training videos we all cringe through each year.

She figured workers needed to confront the reality of workplace misbehaviors head-on. Even if that meant virtually. Tan leveraged her connection to the SCU ecosystem—participating in the Bronco Ventures Accelerator for start-ups and winning first place at the Ciocca Center’s Business Pitch Competition in 2020—to grow Sisu VR from a concept she and her friend had been imagining into a tangible suite of products available for companies to purchase later that year.

Sisu currently offers an HR workplace training called the “Empower Now Program,” as well as a safety and emergency response training called “Mindglow.” The VR grounds each program in real case studies and ensures that participants can navigate these scenarios from multiple perspectives.

“It drives empathy because users can respond in first-person perspectives,” Tan says. “It really creates a reality that’s as close as possible to what you’re seeing in real life.”

Tan, a board member of the Technology Ethics Council at SCU’s Markkula Center of Ethics, believes tech like VR is an important tool in building more inclusive, resilient employees. She hopes to build additional products, all driven by the mission to revolutionize learning.

“New technology should advance humanity and the common good,” she says. “Virtual reality is a means to an end, not the end itself. It can be a way to help users be better.”

M4 Gehrns
Scenario from Sisu VR program Photo courtesy Jocelyn Tan ’15
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